


Jason Todd's Non-traditional Omega Life

by kikanawj



Series: A/B/O Batfamily [4]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU
Genre: A/B/O nontraditional dynamics, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Canon-Typical Violence, Family of Choice, Found Family, Gen, M/M, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Not Canon Compliant, Omega Jason Todd, Omega Roy Harper, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Abuse, References to Addiction, References to Drugs, References to Past Physical Abuse, Unconventional A/B/O Dynamics, a/b/o dynamics, references to triggers or being triggered
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-03
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-03-15 00:07:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 10,175
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29179983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kikanawj/pseuds/kikanawj
Summary: Jason Todd's an Omega who's dating an Omega. But that's not the weirdest part of his life by any measure. As an Ex-Crime Boss, legally-dead vigilante, he's got a skewed sense of 'normal.'Excerpt:“You ever think about getting married?”Jason blinked. His head replayed the words for him, but it was like their meaning wouldn’t stick.“What?”“Marriage,” Roy smiled at him over the kitchen counter. “You. Me. At least I was thinking you and me. But I don’t know. You ever give it any thought?”“You and me.” Jason repeated, “Getting married?”Roy’s smile broke out into a full grin. “You’re very cute when you’re flustered.”Jason felt his face heat up. “Are you...proposing?”
Relationships: Lian Harper & Roy Harper & Jason Todd, Roy Harper/Jason Todd
Series: A/B/O Batfamily [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1764031
Comments: 6
Kudos: 79





	1. A Question of Sorts

“Hey, Jace.”

It had started innocently enough. Just another day, just another morning in their Gotham apartment. They spent the summer months in Gotham, spending vacation time from Lian’s school with the extended family. Sometimes they would go up to Star city for a week or two. And the rest of the year, Roy and Lian were based out of San Fran. Lian went to school and Roy took shifts at Titans Tower between Outlaw’s jobs. But for the most part Gotham was summer for them. Lian and Roy got to spend time with Jason without the commute eating up the hours. 

So it was just another morning, the sun was valiantly trying to burn through the Gotham fog, and Jason was making breakfast.

“Yeah?” Jason responded to Roy, keeping an eye on the eggs in the pan.

“You ever think about getting married?”

Jason blinked. His head replayed the words for him, but it was like their meaning wouldn’t stick.

“What?”

“Marriage,” Roy smiled at him over the kitchen counter. “You. Me. At least I was thinking you and me. But I don’t know. You ever give it any thought?”

“You and me.” Jason repeated, “Getting married?”

Roy’s smile broke out into a full grin. “You’re very cute when you’re flustered.”

Jason felt his face heat up. “Are you...proposing?”

Roy shook his head, “I wouldn’t spring that on you. That’s why I’m  _ asking  _ you. What do you think about marriage? Or, if you had to think about it? ‘Cause it’s becoming really apparent that you’ve got nothing prepared.”

“That’s because I  _ don’t. _ ” Jason huffed, “I’m trying not to burn these eggs and you’re over there trying to melt my brain.”

“Do you not want to talk about it?” Roy asked. He leaned on the counter, pouting at Jason.

“I didn’t say that.” Jason grumbled. “You’ve obviously got something to say. So say it.”

Roy straightened his posture, hands tapping at the counter absentmindedly. “I’ve thought about it a bit. I think it’d be nice. I’d look good with a ring on my finger. I’m definitely partial to a winter wedding. White snow, comfy decor- I think I have an old pinterest board floating around somewhere.”

Jason laughed, “Is that what you’re in it for, the aesthetic?”

“A honeymoon wouldn’t be bad either.” Roy wiggled his eyebrows at Jason.

“We could go on a trip to have sex whenever,” Jason pointed out. “Or just have sex here.”

Roy nodded, “A fair point. But I feel like it would be different, you know? I’d check in at the resort and get to say, ‘A room for me and my  _ husband _ .’ And flash the ring. Very different vibe.”

“Uh-huh,” Jason agreed in a monotone. He moved the pan off the heat, spooning the food onto the plates.

“It’s the husband part that’s the real sell for me,” Roy continued. “Getting to swear in front of family and friends that I’m crazy for this guy, and promise to always be with him, and raise a family with him, and grow old and senile with him.”

“How would that work when the guy’s legally dead?” Jason asked, frowning.

Roy paused for a moment. “Well, I guess we’d have to think about what kind of married we’d want to be. I wouldn’t mind it just being a thing that we swear to each other in front of just friends and family. And I also wouldn’t say no to jumping through some legal hoops to swear it at a courthouse. Taxes would be better.”

Jason set the empty pan down and turned off the stove top. He looked at Roy over the steaming breakfast plates. Roy had an easy smile on his face. The morning light was highlighting his freckles and making his red hair look almost golden in the glow. He still had the impression of rumpled sheets smooshed onto one side of his face.

Jason’s chest felt tight.

“And what if- What part of that, aside from the taxes, are we not doing already?” Jason asked. “We’re already living together most of the time, my cover is already Lian’s backup emergency contact, and-”

Jason grinned toothily, “We’re already going at it like newlyweds.”

Roy laughed, “Touché. All fair points.”

Jason grabbed the plates and carried them over to the small table just beyond the kitchen. Roy followed him over, grabbing a seat.

“So you don’t feel any desire to add matrimony on top of what we’ve got going on?” Roy asked.

Jason shrugged, “I don’t see the appeal. The extra legal stuff seems like a lot of hassle to go through to do what we’re already doing. And your taxes aren’t even that bad.”

Roy shook his head, “They’re not.”

Jason studied his face, trying to see if there was more than the easy-going air Roy was presenting. He didn’t see any tells.

“Do you want a ring?” Jason asked.

Roy brought his hands up, looking at his left ring finger with a serious intensity.

“I think I’ve got the hands for it, y’know? Like, if I didn’t have so many callouses I could be a hand model, for sure.”

Lian came shuffling out of her room then, yawning. She ambled towards the table and flopped into her seat.

“Breakfast smells good,” She yawned again. “Juice?”

“Did you wash your hands?” Roy asked as he got up to fetch the juice.

“Yes,” Lian replied.

“With soap?” Roy asked.

“Yes,” Lian sighed.

“Good morning, lazy bones,” Jason reached over and ruffled her hair. Lian just leaned into the touch as she rubbed at the sleep in her eyes.

“G’morning,” She smiled at him. “Are we still going to the museum today?”

“In a few hours, yeah,” Jason nodded.

They all tucked into the food. Lian started quizzing them about the new exhibit they were going to see. She spent most of the morning trying on different outfits until she found one that perfectly screamed ‘I’m here to see the dinosaurs.’ It was, unsurprisingly, her dinosaur pattern dress with her dinosaur bag and her dinosaur hair scrunchies.

The earlier conversation wasn’t brought up again, but Jason had it running in the back of his head. Even as they got on the bus and made their way towards the museum and college district. Jason kept catching himself looking at Roy’s hands, his left one in particular. 

He probably  _ would _ look good in a ring. 


	2. Day at the Museum

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Content warning: reference to past physical abuse

The museum wasn’t too crowded. They had purposely waited a week after the grand opening of the new wing to avoid the larger crowds. Lian kept a hold of either Jason or Roy’s hand anyway. She pulled them along, pointed at the towering sculptures. She read each of the plaques out loud and asked them to explain any big words she didn’t already know. When they got to the kid’s activity corner she gasped so loud she startled the people around them.

“I wanna dig for fossils!” She exclaimed, tugging on Roy’s arm, “Please, please, please-”

“Yes, yes you can. That’s why we’re heading there,” Roy smiled as Lian dragged him over to the play area.

Jason followed after, watching with a grin as Lian tried to pull Roy into the very small play structure with her. He very patiently explained to her that he wouldn’t fit, but she wouldn’t believe him.

“You haven’t even tried,” Lian told Roy in a very good impression of him. “How do you know if you haven’t even tried?”

That got a few laughs out of the other parents around. Roy sighed and got on his knees and showed Lian how he couldn’t get more than one shoulder past the entrance. She finally relented and went inside without him. She quickly started up a conversation with the other kids, asking them what their favorite dinosaurs were and if she could have a turn digging in the fossil pit.

Jason didn’t bother hiding his grin as he helped Roy back up.

“Oh, be quiet,” Roy shoved at his arm.

“She’s  _ so  _ your kid, Harper.”

“She gets her sass from watching you. Don’t even try to deny it.”

Jason just shrugged while giving his best shit-eating grin. They hung around the play area, keeping an eye and an ear on Lian. She seemed to be getting along just fine with the other kids. They spent a while digging in the fossil pit and then started up a game of tag with each kid running around like they were a dinosaur.

The other parent milled around the same area. Occasionally Jason could connect who belonged to who as he casually catalogued facial features, or tracked who peoples’ eyes were following. The general noise of the crowd wasn’t too bad, the kids’ laughter and shrieks of joy being the loudest parts. Jason could pick out some of the chatter around them.

“We should get something to eat soon, which way was the food court?”

“I was hoping they’d have more flying dinos. They were on the posters!”

“Katie’s still stuck out by will-call. Should I just go and get her?”

“Hey, we look with our eyes, not our hands. Put them in your pockets, it’ll help you remember.”

“Oh, hey, do you see that guy’s neck? Fucking vicious.”

Jason’s shoulders tensed at that last one. He subtly peaked around Roy, spotting the two women not so subtly pointing at Roy.

“Jesus. Poor guy, bet his Alpha’s a dick.”

“Shh- I think he’s the one right next to him. Dude’s a brick house.”

“Makes me sick, scarring someone like that.”

Jason clenched his jaw to keep himself from saying anything. The two women moved on past them, sending a few looks back, but keeping a quick pace away.

Jason felt his anger bubbling up inside of him. Worst part was he couldn’t blame them for their reaction. Roy’s bond mark  _ was  _ vicious. The whole side of his neck held the twisted scars from having his throat nearly torn open. Cheshire hadn’t been the kindest of lovers, to put it mildly.

Roy didn’t usually do much to hide his mark when he was about in their civilian lives. He didn’t tend to wear low cut shirts or v-necks, but he didn’t bother with scarves or turtle necks either. Especially during summers in Gotham. He also didn’t really try to cover it with make-up. Like a lot of his scars, he didn’t seem very shy or bothered about them.

Jason did resent the snap judgment that  _ he’d _ been the Alpha to scar Roy. Just because he was with him now, and tall and broad. Jason knew the figure he cut, most people assumed he was an Alpha. He’d gotten used to that years ago. 

Still, fuck those assuming assholes. Jason’s hands itched to punch something.

“Hey,” Roy interrupted his thoughts by grabbing his hand, “You okay?”

Jason looked at Roy’s worried face and felt his anger melting away. “Yeah, I’m good.”

“Hungry?” Roy asked.

Jason shrugged, “I could eat. But Lian seems pretty engrossed.”

Jason nodded towards where Lian was running around the play area, arms held tight against her chest and legs stomping in an exaggerated motion. She gave a roar and the kids around her roared back.

“I’ll go grab us something,” Roy offered easily. He gave Jason’s cheek a quick peck before he hurried off towards the food court.

Jason watched him weave through the crowd. He was headed towards the food court but stopped early. Jason peered after him, trying to see what he was doing. A few people moved out of the way and Jason saw Roy was talking to someone, his arms crossed. Jason glanced back towards Lian, she was having a grand dinosaur time, and then moved a bit further to see Roy better.

Roy was already moving on, heading on towards the food court. But Jason caught a glimpse of the two women, both of them standing where Roy had just been, their shoulders hunched. 

Roy came back with his hands laden with bags of chips and some rock candy. He didn’t say anything and Jason didn’t bring it up. 

Lian eventually came back out of the play area, pouting and asking for food. They all made their way to the food court proper and had an actual meal. Lian insisted on getting the dino-shaped chicken nuggets, even though she had had dino nuggets the night before. Roy let her, but had her agree to finish a side salad alongside the nuggets.

“But T-rex’s were carnivores,” Lian whined. “That means they only ate meat.”

“Well then it’s a good thing you’re not a T-rex.” Roy said as he put the salad in front of her. “Look, it’s got strawberries in it. You love strawberries.”

Lian inspected the salad, eyes narrowed.

“They’re red like bloody meat,” Jason pointed out, “Still pretty T-rex-y.”

Lian nodded, seemingly appeased, and dug in.


	3. Patrol

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A tiny bit of plot? More likely than you'd think.

Jason kept his patrols pretty bare bones when he wasn't chasing down an active lead. He had the shelters and corners and clinics in his territory that he checked up on. People knew him and knew to expect him semi-regularly. He had a few hotlines set up through Oracle's systems too, for when people needed to get a hold of the Red Hood outside of normal operating hours. 

The longer Arsenal was in town during the summer, the more people connected him with Red Hood. They were already known to work together in the larger cape community through the Outlaws. But Gotham was slow to recognise new capes, especially if they came from outside the city limits.

There were certain kinds of victims in Gotham that didn't trust the cops, or even the shelters. And a few more that didn't turn to the Bats for help either. There were some who would only talk to Red Hood, if they were going to talk at all. But it seemed Arsenal was beginning to be included in that.

A tip came in, a kid flagged Arsenal down off a rooftop in the Narrows, that there was a new drug ring claiming territory. And they were recruiting kids to move their product. The kid refused to give any more specifics until Roy called in Red Hood.

The two of them spoke with the kid and gave him the bag of fast food Jason had grabbed on his way over. The drug ring was expanding fast because of a ridiculous amount of liquid capital. The kid asked them not to kill any of the runners. He'd told them a lot of his friends had joined up to get the money.

"You don't call the cops when you bust people," the kid said to Red Hood. "I don't want my friends dyin' or going to jail 'cause they wanted to help cover rent. But this shit they're runnin'- five people have already OD'ed from it. People don't give shit 'cause they were all Omega hookers …it's a lot of bullshit."

Jason and Roy got all the details the kid had; warehouses, routes, times and frequency of deliveries. They also stuck around a bit and talked to the kid about his friends. Jason recommended the Wayne Foundations rent assistance program, assuring the kid that it was legit and there wasn't the normal drug-test red-tape bullshit bureaucracy other programs had. Jason hoped the kid believed him enough to follow up on it. 

Roy and Jason took the rest of the night to canvas the areas the new drug ring was working in. They noted what activity they saw and recorded what they could to cross-check with their tip's information.

They got back late from patrol, only getting to their apartment as the first rays of dawn were appearing. Stephanie was passed out on their couch when they opened the door.

"Want to wake her?" Roy whispered.

"Yeah, she's got class in the am." Jason grabbed a pillow off the arm chair and lobbed it. The pillow hit Stephanie on the shoulder and she came up swinging.

"Fuck you- I'll kill you, asshole-!" Stephanie paused, her foot hovering in the middle of the spinning roundhouse she had opened with. "Oh. Hey, guys. Bit late, huh? Or early?"

"Yeah, sorry about that," Roy pointed to the text books littering the coffee table. "You manage to get any work done?"

Steph nodded and stretched, "Yeah, I'm good. Lian was a sweetheart, as usual. We did our nails." Steph showed off her sparkly pink nails, half of which were very obviously done by Lian.

"Thanks for covering," Roy told her.

"Anytime," Stephanie said, and then frowned. "Okay, not during midterms or finals, but any  _ other _ time."

Steph packed her books up and grabbed a muffin off of their kitchen counter before heading out.

"See you guys tomorrow!"

Roy went to peak in and check on Lian. Jason headed out to the balcony. He sent Alfred a text and forwarded a brief summary of the drug ring info. He asked him to keep some bat-lab equipment prepped for if they managed to get a hold of a sample.

Jason eventually headed in to bed, slipping under the sheets and curling up next to Roy. 

"What are you thinking about, Jace?"

Jason hummed under his breath, pressing his face up against Roy's shoulder.

"Thinking about calling in Cass. It might just be a coincidence that only Omegas have died so far. But it might not be. Could be useful to have a different presentation as backup."

Roy nodded. "So why Cass?"

"She's better about going with my plays than the others. Maybe Tim, if Cass is busy."

Roy yawned and rolled over, pulling Jason more firmly against him. "Sounds like a plan. Goodnight, Jay."

"G'night, Roy," Jason exhaled slowly and let himself settle. Held in Roy's warm embrace.


	4. Suiting Up

Two days later, Red Hood and Arsenal were ready to move on the new drug ring. They'd managed to map the new enterprise's main routes of distribution and narrowed down the headquarters. It was a moderately sized office building, a little west of downtown proper. Real estate records showed it as currently vacant and awaiting environmental impact reviews before it could be listed. But thermal scans showed a large-scale production on the ground and basement levels.

BlackBat was on call as back-up, patrolling the neighborhoods and business parks around the office building. 

Red Hood and Arsenal began with a stealth approach. They scaled the building and began combing the place from the top down. Thermals didn't show any activity on the upper floors, but they wanted to confirm with visuals.

For the most part it was a vacant office building. Boring carpet with boring walls with boring cubicle furniture stacked in boring rows. There was a snag on the second floor, just above the main stairwell. Three people stood, keeping watch. They all had hazmat suits on, as well as guns strapped across their shoulders. 

It wasn't an unusual amount of heat for a drug operation in Gotham. But the fact that the guards were wearing protection equipment usually reserved for the actual chemists and mixers, gave Jason pause.

"What do you think?" Jason asked Roy quietly over comms.

"It's a little weird." Roy commented. "Could be short staffed? Over supplied?"

Jason shook his head, "We could ask these fine fellows a few questions. Maybe get a bit more insight."

"Which one are we aiming to grab? Generic looking hench person one? Generic looking hench person two? Generic-"

"The one with the duct tape patch on their suit, currently facing east." Jason decided. "Seems like someone who's already screwed up once."

"Count me in," Roy said.

"Three, two, one-"

Jason sprung from the shadows the same instant two arrows came flying in. The two projectiles found their marks, striking their targets' heads, leaving them crumbling to the ground. Jason grabbed Duct-tape. He tore off the suit's hood and mask in a flash and shoved his forearm over the person's mouth before they could utter a word.

"Nice and quiet now," Jason breathed through his helmet. He unfastened the gun from its shoulder strap and clipped it onto his own belt. He grabbed Duct-tape up, off their feet as he began to silently step back and away from the stairwell.

"Let's have a chat."

Duct-tape didn't make any moves. They'd frozen as soon as Jason had grabbed them. Jason noted how light they were, he wasn't even straining to carry them. He saw their eyes reflected in a window he dragged them past. Duct-tape looked young and terrified, especially after they spotted Jason's red helmet in the reflection.

"You scream, you make any noise above a whisper to answer my questions, and I break something important." Jason threatened. 

Duct-tape nodded as much as they could with Jason's arm still shoved against their mouth.

Jason put them down and shoved them to their knees, keeping a hard hand on their shoulder.

"Now," Jason leaned in, "What's with the suit?"

"Uh, it's- it's to protect us from the fumes," Duct-tape whispered, fear lacing their voice. "From the manufacturing on the lower levels."

"What are you cooking down there?" Jason asked, squeezing their shoulder hard.

"I don't know- I don't know exactly." Duct-tape swallowed hard, "I think it's speed, or something like speed. I didn't ask. It's a drug."

"How many people are on the lower levels?"

"I don't know, maybe 20? Uh, no, 15? I've never been down to the basement. I don't know who's down there."

"Who's in charge?"

Duct-tape shook their head and didn't answer.

Jason's grip on their shoulder tightened. He could feel the bones start to grind against one another under his palm. Duct-tape gasped. "I don't know! I don't know!"

Jason grabbed their jaw and pulled them around. "What did I say? Was that what you call whispering?"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, please," Duct-tape had tears running down their face. "Please don't kill me. I don't know, I don't know."

Jason couldn't see details perfectly through his helmet's night vision readout. But from what he could tell, Duct-tape wasn't an adult, might not even be old enough to drive. 

"Anyone here actually old enough to buy booze?" Jason asked as he let go of Duct-tape's jaw.

"The Manager, down on the first floor," Duct-tape whispered. "I don't know his name. But he's in charge tonight. Tall, his hazmat suit has the extra lining and marks. Black lines around the seams."

"Anyone else packing heat?"

"The- the other guards. Three on each entrance." Duct-tape told him. Duct-tape was hiccuping now, trying to keep their voice down while the tears kept coming.

Jason narrowed his eyes, he grabbed Duct-tape's face and tilted it better towards him. His pupils were huge, almost erasing his irises.

"You sampling the wares, kid?" Jason asked.

"What? No- no," Duct-tape shook their head and blinked slowly. "I don't- why is everything so fuzzy- the, the fumes?"

Jason watched as Duct-tape started panting. Jason switched over to thermal vision and saw how flushed the kid's face was becoming.

Jason stood up, switching to comms.

"Arsenal, there's something in the air. Put on your rebreather."

"Okay," Roy replied, his voice gained a static quality. "I'm not noticing anything yet. I've got the other two secured."

Jason knelt back down and caught Duct-tape as they slumped to the ground. Jason checked their pulse, a little fast but not dangerous yet. Duct-tape seemed out of it, eyes not tracking him or anything else. Jason secured their hands and then moved them to lay in the recovery position. 

"I'm not going to gag you because I don't want you to drown in your own vomit," Jason told them. "Don't make me regret that."

Duct-tape didn't respond. They just stared blankly in front of them.

Jason sighed into his comms, "Whatever is in the air is fast acting. I think you should head back out-"

"Red," Roy interrupted, "Call BlackBat in and I'll head out after she gets here, not before."

Jason hit the signal on his belt. Cass' comm chimed twice over the line as she confirmed the call. Two minutes out.

Jason had a moment to be glad Cass wore a full cowl mask with filters built in. Everyone else needed to get on their level with respiratory guards.

Jason met up with Roy at the stairwell. Roy saluted him from where he was crouched, surveilling what he could see of the lower floor. Jason joined him.

"Looks like just guards," Roy reported. "I've counted six. If they're mirrored at the other side, with three at each entrance, then we're only looking at 12."

"Might be more at some interior entrances." Jason reasoned.

Roy nodded. They waited for Cass. She landed next to them, silent as a shadow. Roy took his cue to leave. He wasn't showing any symptoms yet, but Jason wasn't going to take any chances.

Cass looked to Jason and he signaled a go-ahead. The two of them slipped down the stairwell, into the den below.


	5. Sirens

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ah, so much action. This is what happens when I put plot in my stories...

Splitting off to opposite sides, Cass and Jason engaged the guards. They managed to take down the first group on either side without issue. Unfortunately, the second groups noticed them and the alarm was raised.

It turned into a brief firefight. Cass with her batarangs and Jason with his rubber bullets vs the guards and their semi-automatics. It took a bit of doing, Jason's armor got nicked a few more times that he would've liked, but they secured the ground floor. 

Taking a few moments to check the floor over, they noticed it was bereft of any manufacturing equipment. Sure, there were lots of packaging and labeling and sorting spaces. But nothing to actually make the drugs.

"To the basement we go," Jason muttered over the comms. Cass gave him a thumbs up.

They made their way to the nearest basement access, wary as the gunshots and shouting had already given them away. No one met them en route, so they chanced the stairwell.

There was a level of a pseudo airlock installed in the stairwell. Thick pieces of plastic hung to separate the air flow of above and below. The air in the basement was foggy, like at a concert when someone just let the machines keep running.

Cass and Jason made it down the stairs with still no one to greet them. They began to case the space, going room to room, silent.

They found large supplies of raw materials, some kept in haphazardly laid out chest freezers, some just stacked in bins and barrels. 

Halfway across the basement, there was movement up ahead and noise too. Cass and Jason eased forward, peering through the hazy hallways. There were fluorescent lights in the ceiling of the room at the end of the hall. The lights illuminated the haze more than actually lighting the space.

Finally, there were some people. They were in hazmat suits. There were about ten in total, all rushing around a large room, moving metal and glass instruments. They looked to be in a panic.

Jason and Cass stuck to the hazy shadows as they crept closer. 

There was a large crash and the sound of glass shattering.

"You idiot!" Came a voice through static, like someone was using a speaker. 

A gunshot rang out and all of the movement ceased. 

"You were warned not to puncture or tear your suits. That warning has not been lifted. Finish your packing and  _ move. _ "

The sounds of equipment being shuffled around picked up again.

There was a choked whimper. Jason switched to thermal vision and saw a person on the ground, clutching at their chest. Another person was standing over them, raising their arm.

Cass moved, piercing through the fog like an arrow. She tackled the man with the gun. He fired twice before Cass broke his wrist and snatched the gun from him.

Jason saw two other people move forward, arms raising towards Cass.

Jason fired into the ground and stepped into the middle of the doorway.

"Listen up, you motherfuckers!" Jason yelled, pulling attention. "If you want to wash your hands of this, you've got 10 seconds to get clear of this room, before I start making it into a morgue."

There was a pause. Cass rolled off the first gunman and ran back to the gunshot victim. 

"NINE!" Jason roared.

There was a cacophony of crashes as people dropped what they were holding.

"EIGHT!"

Panicked yells as people dashed for the far end of the room, out through another door.

"SEVEN!"

The two gunmen turned to Red Hood and opened fire. Jason dodged to the side as he returned in kind.

"SIX!"

One of the gunmen fell to his knees, clutching his now broken visor. The other advanced towards Jason, pinning him into a corner.

"FIVE!"

Jason kicked off the wall and flipped neatly through the air. He threw a knife at the remaining gunman, slicing through the hazmat suit and into his right arm. He yelled and dropped his gun.

"FOUR!"

Jason landed on top of the gunman, knocking him to the ground. He yanked the guys arms behind his back. The gunman screamed.

"Three." 

Jason slapped some cuffs on the downed gunman and waltzed over to the one with the cracked visor.

"Two."

Jason knelt in front of him, raising his pistol to the crack in the visor.

"One."

The man flinched, his arms coming up to shield himself. Jason laughed and grabbed him, spinning him around and cuffing his hands behind him, and then cuffing his ankles for good measure.

Jason looked around the room. The first gunman was lying still where Cass had laid him out. Everyone else had booked it. Jason hoped Roy was still doing okay outside, and was having fun netting up all the fleeing people.

Jason jogged back over to Cass, where she was kneeling next to the gunshot victim. Jason could hear her over the comms.

"-ambulance to my location. Gunshot wound to the upper chest, cannot tell if through and through. Some unknown drug in the air at location."

Cass had gotten the victim out of the top of their hazmat suit. She'd given them one of their bat-rebreathers and was keeping pressure on their wound.

Jason looked over her shoulder and exhaled sharply. The victim looked even younger than Duct-tape.

"Hold pressure," Cass snapped at him. 

Jason knelt and took over for her, pressing down on the bleeding chest wound. Cass grabbed at her belt, pulling out gauze and bandages. She stuffed as much gauze as she could into the wound. Jason helped her maneuver the kid to wrap the wound tightly.

With the wound dressed as best it could be, Cass raced out of the room. She returned quickly with a flat piece of cubicle wall and pulled rope out of her belt.

"Stretcher," Cass said as she laid the cubicle wall down and began threading the rope under it. "Help to move."

Jason helped her lift and secure the kid to the wall piece. And then took up the back, following Cass as she carried the kid out of the basement. Once they got the kid out of the building entrance, Cass set the stretcher down.

"Go back," Cass told him, "Investigate before sirens get here."

Jason left her to it, dashing back inside.

  
  



	6. Poison

Back down in the basement of the drug ring HQ, Jason looked around. The three gunmen from before were wherever he had left them, unconscious and tied up to varying degrees. He stepped around them and began investigating.

There seemed to be a lot of equipment in the large lit room. Most of it hastily packed away or smashed. Lots of tubes and beakers for extracting and handling the different chemicals. Nothing too out of the ordinary there.

Jason continued his search into the rooms further in the basement. The air got somehow more foggy and hazy. Even with his night and thermal vision of his helmet, Jason was having a hard time seeing. He clicked on a flashlight and kept a hand on a wall as he moved forward. 

His hand bumped into something, something on the wall. Something slimy and moving.

Jason did not scream, or yelp, or freak out. He just froze, and turned the flashlight's beam on whatever he was touching.

It looked like a vine of some sort. Pulsating. And leaking slime.

Jason's foot crunched something on the floor. He knelt and saw it was a vial. It was next to other vials, all seemingly dropped on the floor, some of which had some slime collected in them.

Jason switched his comm to the general Bat line.

"Do we have eyes on Ivy?" Jason asked. He brought the flashlight back up to the wall, slowly following the vine back along its growth.

"Not currently," Red Robin responded. "Her last sighting was in Arkham two months ago before her latest escape. No appearances since."

Jason followed the vine until it encompassed the whole wall, floor to ceiling. He turned the light, the small beam barely piercing the haze around him. The middle of the room was filled with a vast knotwork of vines. Jason leaned closer and saw that instead of leaves, there were little hair-like structures along the skin of the vines. They seemed to move and shake, as if being blown by a strong wind.

Jason watched as the hairs seemed to release little spores, added to the haze around him.

"Why?" Red Robin asked.

Jason cleared his throat, backing out of the room slowly.

"I think I found one of her babies."

"And her?" Red Robin pressed.

"No," Jason said quietly, keeping his movements slow, "I don't think so. She would've showed up to the party if she had been here."

Jason got around the corner, putting a wall between him and the whatever-the-hell plant thing, turned and ran. He got back to the room with the gunmen and grabbed the least injured.

"What the fuck were you doing?" Jason yelled at him. "What the fuck were you harvesting from that thing?"

The gunman with the cracked visor didn't respond. He hung limply from Jason's hold.

"Hood?" Red Robin asked.

"I'll send you the coordinates." Jason told him as he picked up the three gunmen. He dragged them along with him as he left the basement. "Gonna need an actual hazmat team to take care of this."

"You get any samples?" 

Jason snorted, "I'm probably covered in samples."

Jason stopped mid step as his brain caught up. "Oh, shit."

"Hood?"

Jason switched his comms back to the previous line.

"Arsenal- what's your status?"

There was silence over the line.

"Arsenal, respond."

No response.

"God fucking shit-"

Ivy's pollen and spores were notorious for fucking with people's sex drives and higher thought processes. Depending on the plant and the mix, they usually hit the different presentations in different ways. Eliciting a drunk/high response from most Betas, spurring on ruts in most Alphas, and triggering heats in most Omegas. If what Jason saw occur in Duct-tape was any indicator, this new pollen was ten times more potent than any they'd ever encountered before. They hadn't just seemed to get high, they went practically comatose in a matter of seconds.

Jason switched back to the Bat line.

"Get me a location on Arsenal.  _ Now _ ."

  
  



	7. Over Heated

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Content warning: references to past drug use, addiction, recovery, and triggers

Jason dumped the gunmen out by Cass. Red Robin was pulling up Arsenal’s trackers. Jason headed back into the building and started combing the floors up to the roof. It hadn’t been too long. Roy couldn’t have gotten very far, he  _ wouldn’t  _ have gone very far.

Jason’s shoulders got more and more tense with every floor he cleared. He started mentally reviewing the medical side effects of heats. The main concern for riding out a normal heat was dehydration. Followed by anemia, low appetite, and a low grade fever which generally made the dehydration worse. If the new pollen did what he suspected and not only sped up the process, but increased the intensity- then the fever and anemia were the most immediate concerns. A person could only stand to lose so much blood. And the difference between a low grade fever and a lethal one was only a few degrees.

“I’ve got a location,” Red Robin announced. “A block South-East of you, five stories off the ground, probably a rooftop.”

Jason abandoned his search of the building and booked it to the roof. He jumped roofs to the South East, scanning for thermals. There- two buildings over, someone was lying prone.

Jason nearly missed jumping the last gap in his haste. He rolled from his unsteady landing and came up running. He skirted around the rooftop vents and machinery. Roy was there- curled in on himself, shaking violently.

“I got you, I got you,” Jason knelt next to Roy. He got his arm under his head and shoulders and maneuvered Roy up to laying across his lap. Jason pulled off his glove and held the back of his hand to Roy’s forehead. He was burning up. He felt at his neck for his pulse- it was rapid.

“Jay?” Roy’s voice was hoarse and faint.

“Yeah, yeah it’s me, I’m right here. Gonna get you all fixed up, don’t worry.” Jason reached back to his belt and clicked his emergency beacon. His comm clicked in his ear. “I need the Batmobile sent to me ASAP for pick up. Prep the med bay for extreme fever and dehydration, possible blood loss. Contamination protocols.” 

“Batmobile deployed, ETA eight minutes” Alfred’s voice came over the line. “What matter of contamination?”

“Aerosolized pollen or spores, possibly also chemical fumes.” Jason rattled off.

“Preparing Cave for air flow quarantine,” Alfred acknowledged. 

“Okay,” Jason said as he shifted his hold on Roy, “Got to get you down to street level for our pick up.”

“Don’ feel good,” Roy whined as Jason moved him.

“I know, babe. I’m being as gentle as I can.” Jason soothed him as he slung Roy over his shoulders and secured his hold. Sometimes it was really inconvenient that Roy was almost the same size as him.

Jason repelled down the side of the building and sat Roy down on a bus bench by the curb. Jason could hear the sirens of the ambulances approaching, heading towards Cass. The loud noises seemed to distress Roy, he flinched at them and pressed his shaking hands over his ears.

“Too loud,” Roy whined.

Jason knelt in front of him, rubbing his hands up and down Roy’s arms in what he hoped was a soothing manner.

“Really cold,” Roy mumbled, “...feels like a bad trip.”

“I’m so sorry,” Jason told him. He hated anything that triggered Roy’s addiction trauma. This whole night had gone tits up and wasn’t getting better any time soon. 

It was a long few minutes before the Batmobile got to them.

Jason got Roy into the back of the Batmobile, laying him out on his side across the back row of seats. The doors closed automatically behind them. Jason leaned over the driver’s side console and queued up the autopilot back to the Cave. Jason dove into the supply cupboards as they peeled out. He got out a thermometer, a water bottle, and a few cooling packs.

Jason peeled Roy’s domino off and took his temp. 105°, _shit_. Jason cracked the cooling packs and put them around Roy’s neck, in his armpits, and fit one up against his groin. Roy hissed and squirmed, trying to get away from the shocking sensation.

“Roy, it’s me. You’ve got a dangerous fever. We need to cool you down.” Jason tried to calm him. “Do you want a drink? Want some water?”

Roy whined, more like a keen. Jason’s chest felt tight at the sound of it. He sounded miserable.

“Here, just let me tilt your head,” Jason helped Roy take a few sips. 

Roy’s eyes were unfocused, his pupils were blown wide open. He didn’t seem to be able to track anything going on.

The Batmobile alerted them as it pulled into the Cave’s hanger. Jason popped the doors open. He was surprised to see not just Alfred ready in full hazmat gear, but Bruce as well. Jason pulled Roy out, and with Bruce’s help, got him onto the waiting stretcher. Alfred wheeled Roy away, but Bruce held Jason back.

“We need samples,” Bruce reminded him. He handed Jason one of their collection kits. “Give me a few to work with and then go decontaminate.”

Jason nodded and started swabbing the outer layer of his jacket. “He might panic about having an IV put in.” 

“I know. That’s why I’m here. Get changed and join us when you can.” Bruce took the kit back from him and raced after Alfred.

Jason struggled for a moment, instincts roaring at him to follow Roy immediately. But Bruce was right, he needed to get clean and changed first. Begrudgingly, Jason turned and made his way to the showers.


	8. Close

Thankfully, getting Roy started on an IV for fluids wasn’t a big deal. He was very out of it and might not have even noticed them putting the needle in. After an hour on fluids and a fever reducer, he seemed to become more lucid. 

Jason was able to move Roy to the showers and get him fully decontaminated and changed into clean sweats. With the industrial air filters running in the Cave and med bay, they were able to declare contamination protocols unnecessary after two hours into treating Roy. No significant amount of particulates could be detected in the air anymore. 

Jason was able to ditch the hazmat suit and just lay in the bed in med bay with Roy. Bruce and probably other people were hard at work out in the Cave proper, running analysis and composition breakdowns of the pollen spores and the drug samples Cass had grabbed from the office building. Jason wasn’t thinking about that, he was just trying to help Roy relax and make it through his weird trip of a heat.

Roy was tense, which was the most unusual thing about the drug/pollen induced heat. Normally a heat would come with a range of naturally occurring muscle relaxers and a whole lot of endorphins. Being too relaxed and unsteady on your feet was more common than not. But Roy was a solid mass of tensed muscles. It was like his whole body was cramping, keeping his muscles flexing and spasming in odd rhythms. 

The meds he was on to keep his fever managed were helping with the body aches too, but they were only doing so much. Roy refused the more potent drugs, his history with similar substances had him wary. And the pollen induced heat was already giving him hard memory recall back to old trips and rough withdrawals.

As Roy became more lucid he started asking for Lian. Before remembering that he didn’t want Lian to see him like this, or be exposed to the Cave more than strictly necessary. His instincts to keep her close were warring with his wants to protect her and his own discomfort with the Cave.

“I want to go home,” Roy said through his teeth as he shoved his face against Jason’s neck. “I want to be in our nest. Not in this cold, damp hole that smells like bat shit.”

Jason nodded and hugged him tighter, “As soon as we get the tox screen back,” He promised, “We’ll go home once we know you’re in the clear.”

Roy shivered against him, “I don’t want to scare Lian. I want to hold her and bury her in blankets and glue her to my side, but I don’t want this scaring her.”

“We can explain it to her,” Jason assured him, “She loves cuddling with you. We can make it not scary.”

“It hurts,” Roy breathed.

“I’m sorry.” Jason ran his fingers through Roy’s hair. “I’m here, babe. I’ve got you.”

Alfred came in a bit later with the tox screen results. Roy’s system seemed to have already processed the pollen, aided by the extra fluids. Now he was just suffering the effect of an out-of-cycle induced heat. It’d be more painful, have higher spikes of hormones, but probably end sooner than a natural heat would.

They got Roy ready to travel, changing him into the Bat-tech underarmor that helped suppress scent. As well as covering his exposed neck scent glands with scent-blocking patches. He still had some amount of Omega-in-heat pheromones wafted around him, but it wasn’t super obvious.

Roy and Jason took one of the less conspicuous cars back to their place. Alfred dropped them off with promises to get their gear back to them once he was done triple checking it for lingering contamination. 

Jay had to basically carry Roy up the stairs to their apartment’s doors. His cramping muscles were making it very hard to be fully upright.

Steph opened the door for them. She nodded to them as Jason carried Roy in. 

“Lian’s still asleep,” Steph whispered to them as Jason maneuvered Roy into their bedroom. “I can go and grab you guys some more Gatorade and pain meds. Your supply is running a little low.”

“Iron supplements too,” Jason said.

“Right, I’ll be back in a sec.” Steph left, locking the door behind her.

Roy hissed as he was lowered onto the bed. “I love Steph, but the apartment reeks of worried Alpha now.”

Jason laughed quietly, “I can go crack the windows.”

“I think the whole Cave would’ve been suffocating if they hadn’t already been running the filters full blast.” Roy gave him a fragile grin.

“Sorry my pack is so overbearing.” Jason sighed.

Roy shook his head, “I’m not really complaining, they’re practically my pack too. It’s kind of nice.”

Jason just nodded. He had complicated feelings and a very complicated history with his pack. Dying and then coming back for bloody revenge will do that. But where he stood now, he could feel the weight of the pack bond, always resting heavy in the back of his mind. 

Lian and Roy were pack to him, too. But it was a different connection, separate from the greater Wayne bond. Jason knew Roy had a tangled mess of bonds himself; the on-again off-again familial bond with Oliver, Hal, and Dinah, the old painful bond with Cheshire, the even older severed bonds to his birth parents and Brave Bow.

Jason went out into the main room and cracked a few windows and turned on a fan. His hands fidgeted, his thumb idly rubbing against his left ring finger.

Pack had never been a very easy thing to define for either of them.


	9. Raspberries

Steph came back with the extra supplies. She reminded Jason she was just a phone call away before taking her leave.

Jason helped Roy get dressed in something comfier. With the scent blockers removed, the whole room was soon swamped in Omega-in-heat pheromones. Jason breathed in deeply. It was sweet, the way Roy always smelled to him, but there was a bitter twinge to the scent. Layers of pain-discomfort-distress mixed into the air.

Jason felt a wave of guilt and the very sudden urge to fix what was wrong wash over him. His mate was hurt, was sick, was in pain. Jason's instincts set his heart to hammering again. 

Normally they had a few days to get ready for a heat. They'd set their bed -or whole bedroom- up as a nest, filling it with well worn clothing and pillows and blankets. They'd have time to batch cook a bunch of easy to re-heat meals, stock up on snacks and sports drinks and pain meds. 

They also usually went into heat at the same time. One of the fun tricks to having multiple Omegas in the same house, synchronized cycles.

Jason started with the nest. He grabbed items out of the laundry basket, including lots of Lian's shirts and blankets. And started piling them around the edges of their bed. Roy watched him work, laying curled around a heating blanket.

"You can't use that for too long," Jason reminded him. "You're still feverish."

"I know," Roy sighed, "I just feel like one giant cramp."

"Would a massage help?" Jason offered.

Roy nodded, "Please."

Jason finished arranging the soft items around and cleared the middle of the bed. Roy laid down, still curled up and unable to fully lay out. Jason took his time, gently easing the knots out of his stiff and sore muscles. Eventually he had Roy starfishing across the mattress, loose limbed and melting into a puddle. He was even snoring a little.

Jason heard Lian's door open and the bathroom door shut a moment later. He rubbed a hand over his face and checked the time. He sighed as he saw it was only an hour before their normal breakfast routine.

Jason crawled out of the bed, avoiding waking Roy, and gently shut the bedroom door behind him.

He positioned himself out in the living room so Lian would spot him when she came back out of the bathroom.

"G'morning," Lian yawned as she made her way to him. She held her arms out and Jason picked her up, settling her on his hip. "Why does it smell weird?"

Jason considered how to approach the situation.

"Your dad's cuddle time came a bit early." Jason said, remembering how Lian usually referred to their heats. "He's resting right now, but when he wakes up, I'm sure he'll want to spend all day snuggled up in bed with you."

"And we can watch movies?" Lian smiled.

"Yep. Lots of movies. Lots of snacks."

Lian looked over at the kitchen. "But we didn't cook all the yummy food." She pouted.

"We can do a bit of that now," Jason told her, "But we have to be quiet while your dad's sleeping, okay?"

"Okay," Lian whispered loudly. "Should I get dressed? Or is it a PJ day?"

"Kid, it is most definitely a PJ day."

Roy woke up an hour or so later. He came limping out to use the bathroom and was greeted by the wonderful aroma of Jason making chili. With a lot of enthusiastic help from Lian.

The three of them reconvened in Roy and Jason's bed. They all ate the hearty chili, Jason made sure Roy took more pain meds and drank more water, and they settled in to watch movies. 

It was a slow and easy morning, especially compared to the night before. Lian had a bit too much energy to really embrace the all-day-in-bed vibe. She would get up while the movies played, walk around the room, climb all over the bed frame, climb all over Jason. She tried to climb on Roy, but Jason pulled her off him.

"Hey, your dad is a little hurt right now. We need to be gentle with him, okay?"

"What- where?" Lian squirmed and Jason put her back down on the bed. "Daddy, where's your ouchie? I'll give it kisses and make it better."

Roy grinned and tapped a finger to his cheek, "I've got an ouchie here."

Lian leaned over carefully and kissed her dad's cheek. "Does that feel better?"

"A lot better, thank you." Roy pulled Lian into a hug, settling her against his side. "You always make me feel better."

"Jay should give you kisses, too," Lian grinned over at him. "So you get even better."

Roy gave Jason a look, batting his eyelashes at him. "Well, you heard her."

Jason rolled his eyes, but leaned over. He kissed Roy on the lips, making sure he made very loud noises and was squishing Lian between them to reach.

"No! On his ouchie! You're doing it wrong!" Lian laughed as she tried to shove Jason off.

Jason pulled back, "Oh, you mean here?" He leaned in and blew a raspberry onto Lian's cheek.

She shrieked with laughter, "N-no, not me!"

Jason proceeded to miss several more times, chasing Lian's laughter with tickles and raspberries.


	10. Domestic

Jason took cat naps during the day, catching up on the lack of sleep from the night before. He split his time awake between cooking, playing with Lian, and snuggling with Roy in the nest. He got updates from Cass on the results of the bust.

As far as they could gather, it seems the operation had been augmenting their normal drug with some essence of the mutant plants. The new addition seemed to make the drugs that much more addictive, but with the chance of triggering a response along the presentation types. Oracle was looking into the reported deaths, as they suspected it might’ve been a case of extreme reaction to the spores. An intense fever to the point of hemorrhaging might’ve been mistaken for a more traditional overdose.

As far as how the plants had gotten there in the first place, Tim had a theory. The office building’s sale had been put on hold due to environmental concerns. The company who wanted to sell would have to pay for impact surveys and have them come back clean before they could go ahead with any purchase. 

Tim figured Ivy had dropped the plants there as a test. If the company had moved fast and done the proper testing when it was first called for, they should’ve been able to find the then-much-smaller plants and removed them with little issue. But because the site had been sitting in limbo for so long- the company dragging their heels over the surveys and pursuing court cases to have the restrictions lifted- the plants had the time to mature into an actual threat.

The unfortunate coincidence of a drug manufacturer squatting in the site in the meantime probably hadn’t been a part of Ivy’s intentions.

Cass also updated him on the shooting victim’s progress. He had survived the night in the downtown ER and seemed to have a good chance at recovering. She was keeping tabs.

Jason thanked her for the updates. He figured he’d let the bats take point on tracking down the remaining supply of the hybrid drugs. He had more pressing matters to see to at the apartment.

Roy’s fever hadn’t spiked at all since the first night, remaining at a much less dangerous 99°. Jason had caught him scratching at the IV injection site a few times. Roy always stopped when he noticed himself doing it, offering Jason a fragile smile.

“I’m okay,” Roy assured him. “It was just a rough night.”

“It would be okay if you weren’t,” Jason reminded him.

“I know,” Roy’s smile warmed a little bit, “I sent my sponsor a text, to touch base. I’m mostly just tired.”

At night all three of them slept in their bed turned nest. Lian was cradled between the two of them. Jason was surrounded by the easy reassurance of Roy’s pheromones, blanketing the room in the feeling of home-safe-loved.

Two days into the out-of-cycle heat, Lian was bouncing off the walls. They normally had a schedule in place around their heats, different trusted people lined up to take Lian out to play and get some fresh air. Jason had tried to go out with her once, but the combined angst of Jason leaving Roy during his heat, and Roy being alone while Lian was physically out of his reach had them shelving that idea.

Luckily they were able to call in some help eventually. Steph had some free daytime hours in her course schedule and Tim was freshly back in town from a Titans thing. They were set to come over that afternoon and take Lian to the local park.

Steph and Tim let themselves in a little past noon. Jason was in the kitchen, making up some more reheatable meals. He turned when Steph called out into the apartment.

“Who’s ready to go to the park?”

Lian’s gasp could be heard from Roy’s room, “Me! Me, me!”

“Nope,” Roy’s voice carried over, “You’re all mine.”

There was a round of giggles. Steph and Tim waved at Jason as they made their way over to the bedroom door.

“But I want to go to the park,” Lian gasped between laughs. “Tim always buys me ice cream.”

“Oh, I see,” Roy snickered, “You’re just in it for the ice cream.”

“Mostly,” Lian replied.

Roy laughed. Tim rolled his eyes as Steph knocked at the bedroom door.

“It’s open,” Roy called.

Steph pushed the door open, “You ready to go, kid?”

“Uh, huh.” Lian tried to squirm out of her dad’s hold. “I just gotta put on my shoes.”

“And just who do you think you are, a bunch of Alphas waltzing in here to spirit my kid away?” Roy glared dramatically at them.

“Still? Really? I was here watching her all last week.” Steph sighed.

“Hormones are a B-word,” Roy told her, “You know the drill.”

Steph rolled her eyes and kicked off her shoes. She walked into the bedroom and knelt on the bed next to Lian. Roy reached out his hand and rubbed his wrist against the inside of Steph’s. Steph flopped onto the mattress, rolling so that she was on her back. Roy lifted Lian and set her on Steph’s chest. Lian curled up on top of Steph, tucking her head under her chin.

Roy looked back at Tim, still hovering in the doorway, and raised an eyebrow.

Tim sighed, but knelt to take off his boots. He joined them on the bed and let Roy scent him. Lian crawled over to Tim and climbed up on his shoulders.

“You’re gonna stick with them, and not run off on your own, right?” Roy asked Lian.

“Yep,” Lian nodded, “Holding hands until we get to the playground, and staying in sight when I’m playing.” She recited.

Roy nodded and Lian cheered. She scrambled off of Tim and raced out of the room. “I’m gonna put on my light-up sneakers!”

“How are you holding up?” Steph asked. 

Roy rolled his shoulders, “Not so bad. Much better than the first night. Thanks for taking her for a bit.”

“We’ll be back in about an hour,” Tim reminded him. “Unless you’d be okay with us catching a matinee?”

Roy took a second to think it over. Roy’s arm shot out, grabbing Tim’s shoulders and pulling the two of them down on top of Steph.

“Oof!”

“Hey, watch the elbows-”

Roy rubbed his chin against the top of Tim’s hair. He started a quiet pur in his chest, which TIm and Steph echoed back.

“Yeah, a movie’s fine.” Roy sighed, “She’s been all cooped up in here with me without any of the normal warning. Let her get all that energy out.”

“We’ve got her,” Steph promised. “You just focus on enjoying some alone time with Jay, okay?”

Roy blushed and pinched Steph’s arm. She laughed and swatted at him. Tim twisted away from the two of them, hopping off the bed.

“I’m ready to go!” Lian announced. She stood at the bedroom door with her sneakers flashing colorful lights. “Let’s go, let’s go! Ice cream, ice cream!”

Roy shot Tim a look. Tim shrugged under his scrutiny as he got his shoes back on. “I don’t  _ always  _ get her ice cream.”

“We’re not getting ice cream?” Lian pouted up at him.

Tim stooped and scooped her up, balancing her on his hip, “Oh, we’re getting ice cream. I just need you to stop snitching on me to your dad.”

“But I’m not supposed to keep secrets.” Lian said pointedly.

“Not even ice cream secrets?” Tim asked, grinning.

“Nope!” Lian crossed her arms and shook her head.

“Wow, you’re a way better kid than I ever was.” Tim shook his head as he carried Lian out towards the door. “I think having a great dad helps with that.”

“I have the best dads,” Lian insisted.

Steph gave Jason a pointed look as she followed Tim out the door. She mouthed ‘dad **_s_ ** ?’ at him. Jason could feel himself blushing, but didn’t bother to rise to Steph’s bait. She closed and locked the apartment door behind them. Jason listened as they made their way down the outside stairs, Lian listing off all the different flavors she wanted to get.

Roy came out of the bedroom and draped himself against Jason’s back.

“Your brother’s a bad influence.” Roy griped.

Jason shrugged, stirring the dish on the stove. “I think you’re underestimating him. That was probably some reverse-psychology bullshit to test if she  _ would _ keep a secret. Using something harmless as the control. He’s probably got a spreadsheet about it somewhere that he’d link you if you asked.”

”Your family is so weird,” Roy sighed. He wrapped his arms around Jason’s waist. “Come to bed?”

“Let me take this off the heat,” Jason set the dish aside.

Jason turned around in Roy’s arms. He stole a kiss as he grabbed the back of Roy’s legs and lifted him. Roy didn’t break the kiss, just smirked and wrapped his legs around Jason’s torso.

They proceeded to make the most out of the few hours they had alone.


End file.
